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Watch: Passengers trapped after bus overturns into swollen river in Peru

Dramatic scenes from Peru’s Andes after a bus carrying passengers in the town of Piura falls into the swollen Rio Seco, with trapped passengers inside forced to escape through windows.

On Friday (February 24), the bus was dragged into the river by the strong currents and overturned onto its side. Local residents rushed from the other side of the swollen river to help those inside the vehicle.

Local authorities reported no deaths in the incident but warned bus drivers not to cross near roads where the river has swollen.

It follows months of heavy rain in the Andean areas of Ancash and Piura which has brought down mud onto roads and flooded many homes and comes one day after a similar incident left two people dead in Ancash.

In that incident on Thursday (February 23), two people were killed after their pick-up truck fell into the Rio Santa.

Earlier this month, Peru declared a state of emergency in areas hit by heavy rains after a dengue outbreak in flood-prone areas of the country.

So far this year, floods in Peru have already killed 25 people and affected almost 250,000 people in 24 regions, according to the National Civil Defence Institute (Indeci).

Relief is still a long way off for areas hit by the heavy rain. According to Peru’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services the wet weather will continue until April.